CIVIL WAR
by crazyrajat
Summary: Harry Potter has been missing for the last five years. Daphne Greengrass is forced to find him because of a contract. She is forced to learn more about him but the only problem is he is a loathsome individual who makes it a point to be as unbearable as possible all the time. Harry/Daphne. Its an AU universe.
1. Chapter 1

**Few facts before you start reading my new story-**

 **Harry Potter is not the Boy-Who-Lived in this story. It's Neville Longbottom**

 **It's an A/U as in it is totally different from canon.**

 **The story is set after Hogwarts Education.**

 **Voldemort has been alive for quite some time that is from the fourth year to until now.**

 **There is going to be a lot of world building since I find restricting my story to Britain stupid. This will allow me to write something unique.**

 **Harry is going to be very different in this story.**

 **I have taken a lot of inspiration from Ironman.**

 **I would like to thank** _ **literallychallenged**_ **to beta'd this chapter. It would have been possible without her. So, a million thanks to her.**

 **Chapter - 1**

 **Greengrass Manor,**

A young woman with dark raven hair was glaring at two people for all they were worth. Her azure eyes piercing into two elder folks, one man and another a woman with dirty blonde hair. The said woman was judging them trying to find any form of insincerity.

"You have to be joking, Father." The young lady said, her voice devoid of any emotion however somehow she still managed to maintain her glare.

Daniel flinched at her daughter's clipped tone

"Daphne, I am really sorry. I never wanted this to happen." Daniel replied regretfully.

Daphne just sighed, she knew it wasn't her parent's fault that she was stuck in a marriage contract but she couldn't help but vent her anger on them. She had just turned nineteen few days ago when she was informed by her parents about her impending marriage. How absurd it sounded to her - Marriage! It felt as if her entire world came crashing down on her. She had worked hard to get where she was now, she got 2nd highest in NEWT's at her batch, just lost the first place by few points to Hermoine Granger (the muggleborn).

And just after graduating she got herself a job at the Department of Mysteries and within a year she was approached by the Unspeakables. She didn't like to brag but she was quite sure that she was the best dueller amongst her batch mates which is why she was left alone during her tenure as a student in Hogwarts. Everyone was just too bloody scared to be on the wrong end of her wand, which became even truer after her training as an Unspeakable was completed in a record time.

When she was first informed, she had not even dared to ask her intended's name from her parents despairing that it might have been someone like Malfoy or Zabini. Hence, she had to prepare herself for few days to take the entire situation in but no matter what she would have done it would have never prepared her for this. She was going to be sold off to bloody Harry Potter, the fucking-four eyed scrawny kid. It actually took her sometime to recognise the man since he was simply so unremarkable at class. He just never stood out at anything. That was never a good sign.

"You two do know that Potter might not have even completed his basic seven year Hogwarts curriculum." Daphne stated pointedly to her parent's still maintaining an even tone.

At this both Daniel and Elizabeth Greengrass blinked, this was news to them "Are you sure about that doll!? Your father and I tried to find more about your soon-to-be-husband but we came up with nothing." Elizabeth replied with concern evident in her tone.

"Yes, mother!" Daphne snapped "I am sure, because my _intended_ simply decided to not appear after his fourth year in Hogwarts." Daphne said 'intended' with such vitriol that if Harry was present he would have turned to dust just by the sheer unpleasantness radiating from Daphne.

"You don't know that maybe he transferred to some other school like Beuxbaton or Durmstrang." Daniel replied reproachfully "Though I am sure he is nowhere in Britain right now." Daniel mumbled the last part not really wanting her daughter to catch on that.

However just like usual his daughter managed to hear everything and she exploded "You mean you don't even know where he is right now!? Just how much are you going to mess this up?"

"That's enough! Daphne Greengrass." Elizabeth crowed and Daphne couldn't help but flinch. She always said her whole name when she was pissed. Her mother with her hair blazing and her glare looked downright intimidating and even she didn't dare to test her patience further. Even her father sat back after seeing his wife like that.

"I know the circumstances aren't exactly great," Elizabeth started with a little caution "and we don't know much about your intended but every day we are working on finding more about him. He can't hide from us forever and if he turned out to be an unpleasant sort then we will _take_ _care_ of him." Elizabeth said the last part with a lot of weight on it and her eyes went cold.

Daphne took a step back in shock, she never knew that her parents would go so far for her that they would be ready to kill if her supposed husband turned out to be Death Eater or someone dangerous.

"But if he is not of an unpleasant sort then you will marry him." Her Father grounded out.

Daphne just gave a nod with a hard glint behind her eyes.

"How much time do I have? How long would I be free?" Daphne asked with resignation in her tone.

"A year at best." Both Daniel and Elizabeth replied but there was definite softness behind their answer. Daphne thought it might have been because of their own helplessness in helping her get out of this marriage. Since, she was sure of one thing in this world and that was her parents loved her despite their cold exterior.

Daphne then just simply stormed out of her Father's study with a purpose in her mind. Her parents had told her that the contract was solid and she was inclined to believe them, they would never joke about something like this but she wanted to get the contract checked further by Croaker who was the head of the Unspeakables. They might even be able to locate that idiotic loser. Seriously, who just vanishes like that she knew that times were tough because of the return of Lord Voldemort but if that was the only reason he went away from Britain then that made him a coward. This didn't endear him to her.

 **Harvard University, Cambridge,** **Massachusetts.**

A large auditorium was packed to the brink by the students of Harvard University for a very special lecture. Harvard University was not only one of the premier institution of the modern subjects but also did cutting edge research in Thaumaturgy or commonly known by the wizarding population as 'Magic'.

Right now, there was a massive screen which lit up and said 'Runnic Arrays and their Significance in Modern Thaumaturgy'.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! A Good evening to all of you." A semi bald narrator screamed out using the Sonorus Charm. There was some light clapping from the students of the auditorium. "Today we have a very special alumnus from our very own university will be sharing some of his expertise on runes with all of us."

Now, there were some murmurs from the crowd. The future researchers were chatting excitably amongst them. "Yes! You all heard right, for the very first time Mr. Thorne will be making a public appearance."

The entire auditorium boomed with an applause. Every student was clapping until their arms hurt.

But now the narrator hedged a little with a mischievous smile "However before we bring the mysterious Arthur Thorne to the stage we would like to give a small presentation on his various achievements."

The narrator immediately made his way out of the stage and the entire auditorium went dark and then the screen lit up further showing various images.

 _So who is Arthur Thorne?_

 _Arthur Thorne is the multi billionaire owner of the Advanced Idea Mechanics or commonly known as AIM which have made serious breakthrough in various fields of Thaumaturgy like Arthimancy, Runes, Formalcraft, and so on. Despite their various achievements in these field the most important breakthroughs have been in modern Sciences like advanced targeting system for missiles, satellite locating, and the ever latest crystal missiles._

A female voice spoke while showing various related images of the inventions and Thorne Industries.

 _All these achievements can be boiled down to a single person and that man is Arthur Thorne._

 _Arthur Thorne was adopted by the Legendry weapon manufacturer Howard Thorne at the age of thirteen. Then at the age of fourteen he made his very first Advanced level Runnic Array, the at the age of fifteen he was chosen to attend Harvard Thaumaturgical Sciences and by the age of 17 he graduated summa cum laude and by the age of eighteen he was already the CEO of Thorne Industries but then came the passing of a Titan 'Howard Thorne' and he left the entire company and its dreams on the young shoulders of his son._

 _Who despite all has proven to be a superior son of a stellar father._

All the students exploded with praise and clapping's. The entire auditorium shook.

"Well, wasn't that nice?" A sharp voice cut through the cacophony of more than a thousand students like a knife. All the students' attention immediately shifted to a young man who was standing in the middle of stage wearing a crisp suit. He was about six feet tall and cut quite the dashing figure with his impeccable dressing sense and a playful smirk. The suit of his clung to him like a second skin highlighting his sculpted torso and biceps.

"I would love to thank Harvard for this beautiful presentation about me but I think I should give due credit to that _amazingly sexy voice_ who introduced me otherwise it simply won't be fair." The now introduced Arthur Thorne replied playfully which was accompanied by few giggles from the audience.

"And I would love to meet her backstage," he added with a smirk.

Which drew a few hoots of approval from a part of the audience, and a couple cheers from the other.

"So, all jokes aside today we will be talking about runes and their significance in modern Thaumaturgy. Symbols and Runes are capable of telling thousands words in a single structure but which words are they trying to convey, that is what's important. "Arthur spoke sternly immediately losing any hint of playfulness.

"So now I will be showing some pictures of symbols and runes on the screen and I want you all-" He spoke while pointing his index finger to all the students " to speak about the first thing which comes into the mind when you see the symbol or the related rune."

With that Arthur pointed towards the screen with a remote and it promptly lit up with a rune shaped like a mystifying pentagram.

Immediately shouts rang around the auditorium.

"Hatred."

The voice piqued his attention and he looked in the general direction of the voice, replying sternly, "No."

"Racism.", another student bellowed.

This time, Arthur didn't even bother denying, he just simply looked at him as if he was an imbecile.

"Devil Worshipping.", finally squeaked another voice from the back of the auditorium.

Now, that got his attention. He smirked, expecting to hear that from at least one student. Chuckling, he responded, "Definitely not. Some of you might think that this pentagram is related to devil worshipping since it comes from the Pagan religion, but this is a symbol for Venus and she is considered as the Goddess of love, fertility, prosperity, victory and desire so if anything, this should grace the cover of the next Playboy magazine. And above all, this symbol acts as a balancing force in a lot of runic arrays, making it stable. Strong. Workable. It is generally used when you are trying to work with very passionate subjects in runes."

The audience gaped at him, stunned completely, before they burst into laughter. Arthur grinned in response and waved the remote at the screen again, which now displayed a runic array shaped like a trident.

Shouts rang out from the students again.

"Hatred." came the first response.

Arthur snorted at the kid, "It's almost as if you're not even trying. Is it really that hard to look for another word? I thought I was holding a conference for Harvard students here."

"Devil's pitchfork!" screamed another.

Arthur quirked an eyebrow, "You might be trying too hard there."

"Evil." finally came a response.

Arthur threw his head back, looking at the sky as if he was asking mercy from God. This time he shows the entire runic array as he spoke, "This is Lord Poseidon's trident. The Greek God of the seas, a very powerful symbol to be used in a runic array. It definitely doesn't symbolise Devil's pitchfork. Or evil. Or _hatred_."

"Only very few of the best are capable of wielding the symbol in a runic array. You're looking at one of the few." He said with a smug smile.

He swiped at the screen once again, this time the runic array depicting a mother with her child cradled to her bosom, breast-feeding it.

This time, a sole woman raised her hand in a civil manner, drawing his attention. He motioned at her, beckoning her on the stage, intrigued to hear what she had to say. Her calm features immediately broke into a nervous expression as she uncertainly got off her set and walked up to the stage as gracefully as her apprehension would allow. Arthur smiled at her assuringly, holding his hand out as she climbed onto the stage to stand beside him.

"So, Ruby-haired lady, what do you think this symbol depicts?"

She stutters a little as she spoke, "That is virgin Mary feeding Lord Jesus."

Arthur smiled genuinely at her, before addressing the audience as well, "That's a darn good guess. A bit off the mark, but impressive nonetheless. Because to the rest of the audience, I'm sure, it just looked like a mother with her child."

"The baby is actually Lord Horus, being fed by his mother Isis. This actually happened centuries before Christ. All the history that you see in these symbols are inter-connected. I'm not standing here, trying to teach you runes, symbols, call it what you will. Everyone has a different perspective."

He gestures at the audience again, "But what I _can_ teach you is history."

He inhaled deeply before addressing the subject again, "History of symbols. Where do they come from? From where do they draw their power? How to look at symbols dating back to thousands of years and disseminate them to determine the past, the present and the future? And tonight, I'll give you a short glimpse on how you could become capable of that."

**Scene Break**

"He is dead." Those were the words she heard first from the chief of Unspeakables.

Daphne couldn't believe what she heard, it just didn't make sense. It had been three months since she last contacted Croaker, her boss and her mentor. Since, then both of them have been trying to find everything they could try to find about her mysterious soon to be husband. They had wasted quite a few nights trying to figure out Harry Potter's whereabouts and they had come up with nothing. Seriously nothing? As if he never existed!

"That can't be possible, if he was dead then the contract would have turned into ashes." Daphne gritted out barely concealing her scowl. She didn't want to insult her superior purely out of respect.

Croaker, if anything, looked clearly amused by her disciple's barely concealed rage "Exactly, He can't be dead that is why I tried to cross check his facial patterns with other known muggles in the middle eastern and American continents."

That made Daphne eyebrow's raise a little "Why muggles?" she immediately retorted. It wasn't like she held any disgust towards normal people but wizards in general never interacted with the wider world. So, it came as a surprise to her that Potter would consider to cut himself off from his own heritage. Mind you she wasn't a sympathizer of Voldemort's cause, they were just a bunch of rapists and murderers. She wouldn't ever support them, but there was no way in hell that she'd ever relinquish her tie to her heritage. Not when it extended back to centuries and legends beyond the understanding of the muggle-world.

"And surprisingly, we hit a match." Croaker scoffed "I actually had to pull in some favours from my powerful friends back in the muggle world."

Daphne looked annoyed and she snarled. "Stop beating around the bush and just rip off the bloody bandaid already, goddarnit!"

Croaker's lips curled into a grin, knowing that he pushed her a little too much. But he didn't want to incur her wrath so he proceeded cautiously, "My colleagues hit a 90.83% match with one named _**Arthur Thorne**_."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

"You gotta be kidding me. As in Arthur Thorne of Advanced Idea Mechanics?" Croaker makes an attempt to add to the conversation, only to have his words cut off as she continued, "Isn't that guy a 90-year-old vegetable who feeds off a needle and shits in a pan?"

Croaker's jaw dropped as he gaped at her in surprise before huffing out a laugh," Well, I know that he isn't one to mingle much, but I never thought that people mistook his identity that… _oddly._ "

Croaker fished out a small jar from his pocket. Daphne saw the vividly luminescent matter glowing inside the jar and immediately recognized it as a strand of memory.

Croaker threw the delicate glass jar in her direction swiftly, without a warning and she caught it, to her surprise, but not without fumbling a little. She shot a sharp glare in his direction as if to ask him what the fuck he was thinking.

She held it up looking at it with great fascination, feeling the low heat that it radiated against the glass of the jar. Having never seen that before, she stood mesmerized.

"Go ahead. You know what to do." Croaker stated.

Daphne slowly freed the strand from the confines of the glass jar into the Penesieve placed in Croaker's office and stood there for a moment, taking a deep apprehensive breath before diving her head into the liquid, watching as the strand spread and took the form of the vivid memory that it originally was.

***Scene***

 _ **Daphne POV**_

Daphne didn't know what to think she had seen the memory which Croaker gave her and to say it mildly she had underestimated Potter. She had so many questions, like why did he leave Britain? Why would he change his name? Why would he deny his heritage? Why did he never make any contact with any UK wizard in the last five years? There were so many questions she needed answers for and she would like her questions answered before her inevitable meeting with him.

But as usual her wishes were denied, even after informing her Parents and her Aunt Samantha Zabini, they had come up with nothing. She still didn't believe that Samantha wasn't able to find anything since she was always surprisingly resourceful when it came to filtering out information from her massive string of lovers.

It was as if people went out of their way to hide information about him. It was unnerving and painted a very scary picture of Arthur Thorne.

Thankfully, despite their massive failure in finding credible info on her husband, they had provided great mental support to her and right now had accompanied her to their pre-designated meeting place.

Daphne discretely gave a thorough look at the interiors and she was impressed, only the best materials were used for the interior designing giving it a Victorian feel and it was also to be noted that they were called at a posh apartment in Kensington, one of the costliest places in muggle London.

She also gave a look over at her companions namely her parents and her aunt and she could see even they were impressed but there was also an under hint of annoyance maybe because they had been waiting for about half an hour for Potter to show up.

Daphne heard a small crack and she knew someone had just apparated in the next room. She heard some noises and before she could inform her parents a man walked inside with a gait of a self-assured predator.

He wore a crisp suit instead of a robe which she found strange. No self-respecting wizard wore muggle fashion. He also wore rectangular spectacles which framed his high cheekbones perfectly. He had a lithe body like an athlete and looked like a pureblood.

Daphne and her Parents also noted that this man was not Harry Potter.

"Greetings Lord and Lady Greengrass," the man spoke with a gentle smile "I apologise for my tardiness, I had to take an international portkey to get here but as usual you rarely ever get them on time."

Daphne saw as her father gave a stiff nod before he asked "Who are you and where is ?"

The man simply gave an another genial smile not even bothered by her father's rude behaviour and said "You can call me Mr. White and I will be the one to relay whatever you have to say to Mr. Thorne as is my duty as his lawyer."

"So, your client won't be attending this meeting personally." Daphne and her Father both flinched at Lady Greengrass's tone.

However, the man simply gave another smile not even bothered by her mother's tone "I am afraid that Mr. Thorne is currently unavailable due to certain excruciating circumstances."

Her mother just gave a disapproving smile clearly not buying this man's excuse.

Her aunt was still just watching the man with unnerving intensity, and again it seemed he wasn't even bothered.

Finally, after a stare down her aunt finally spoke "The information which we want to convey is case sensitive and must be conveyed directly to Mr. Thorne."

The man just gave a chuckle "And I said that whatever you have to say will be conveyed to him, and you forget that I am his lawyer, I always handle his case sensitive problems."

Her aunt just gave a flirtatious smile trying to appeal him to his vanity but the man again just gave a small smile not betraying anything.

Her aunt's smile immediately turned into a scowl when she realized that he won't be bending to her will like so many other men had done and lost their lives in the end.

She was also getting a little miffed with this exchange of words and decided to just jump the gun "We have a marriage contract with him, so if you please can you take us to him already. We don't have all day." Daphne downright snarled.

She could clearly see the disapproval in her parents and her aunt's eyes but she just simply didn't want to skirt around the issue any longer than necessary. She just didn't have the patience to break it gently.

Now, for the very first time the man donned an expression other than that cursed smile. He actually looked serious for a change.

Daphne couldn't help but grunt in satisfaction for making this insufferable man to actually show a reaction.

"I would like to see the actual written contract."

Daphne didn't even bother to hear her parent's protests and handed the contract to him immediately.

Daphne saw as his eyes widened by the time he had read most of the contract. He actually looked a little apprehensive. It might have been because the contract was with Harry Potter instead of Arthur Thorne.

"I assume you are the one he has been contracted to Ms. Daphne," he heeds her attention.

Daphne just gave a snort but there was also a hint of respect because the man had clearly done his research because she had not even bothered to introduce herself in the beginning.

"I think you all should follow me to the States." The man said while brandishing his pen which was clearly going to function as a portkey.

 **Malibu, California**

Arthur was at present in his private residence and was tinkering with many of his inventions in his personal lab. Arthur sighed as he watched out of the windows from his lab to the raging sea. Even after staying here in this place for so long he was still impressed with the raw power of an ocean. It was so unyielding, no matter what you throw at it, it always met its finality.

It was early in the morning he wasn't really sure about the time and that scared him more than he admitted because if he was late for his appointments then his personal assistant was going to be a nightmare to deal with. According to her, he wasn't responsible enough and was nothing more than a pleasure seeker who liked to take unnecessary risks simply because it was thrilling.

Arthur let out a small chuckle.

' _She isn't exactly wrong.'_

***Scene***

A small ripple occurred in the porch and a band of five people walked out of it. If there were anyone to see this happen they would have first thought about their choice of ridiculous attire rather than their capability to just appear out of thin air. They were so out of place that it was not even funny.

The first thought Daphne had after getting out of her disoriented trip was _'It's beautiful.'_

There was no other way she could have described the mansion which was in front of her in any other way, it was located in a sea side cliff showing the beautiful seaside cost. The design just by one look can be described as highly modern with an amazing design which was magnified by its location.

Even the other purebloods with her were visibly surprised and dare she say it awed. It wasn't very often a wizard was left speechless by a muggle building. The man she met earlier walked into the building in a quick stride.

The rest of his companions including her parents and her aunt immediately followed the lawyer they met earlier.

Daphne stiffened when she felt a sudden heavy felling on her entire body, it was as if someone had put chains all over her. She knew this feeling better than anyone. These were wards, ridiculously strong wards. So strong, that it felt as if it was touching all over you.

' _This is insane!'_

Lord and Lady Greengrass just looked at each other with barely restrained concern, they had never felt such strong wards, and they had visited highly secure places like the Wizengamot Chamber, Hogwarts and the Department of Mysteries. None of them had wards which were so choking in nature.

They looked towards Samantha Zabini and couldn't help but wince, she was profusely sweating from her forehead and had a downright horror struck face. Samantha unlike rest of her companions was not entirely human and was highly sensitive to surrounding magic and right now she was getting the full brunt of these wards. If they could even be called that.

"Please invite yourself in. The uneasiness will pass away in a few minutes." Elizabeth Greengrass heard Mr. White.

Elizabeth turned her head towards the man and levelled a downright nasty glare at Arthur Thorne's lawyer and to make it worse the man was still smiling in return.

Elizabeth Greengrass couldn't believe that they weren't warned about the wards beforehand. This was the height of rudeness, since the moment this meeting had begun they have been insulted repeatedly by the lackeys of Arthur Thorne, first after being assured a meeting the man himself had not bothered to come and instead sent an insufferable man as his substitute. They might not be the most powerful family in Wizarding Britain but they were still Lords and Ladies of their respective houses and when they requested a meeting they were not discarded so crudely.

And now these wards, she could still feel them. It was as if they touching her entire body. It was violating and downright disgusting. She wanted to have a very frank talk with Arthur Thorne. It was as if the boy lacked any manners. She was downright sure that even her husband and Samantha wasn't pleased by their future son in law's behaviour.

Her husband might be very accommodating with muggles and muggleborns unlike other purebloods but even he was a man of pride. He didn't like to be treated the way Potter has been treating him.

"Eobard! What are you doing here?" A distinctively female voice called from behind.

Daphne turned and her breath hitched. She even saw her own father momentarily surprised along with her mother and her aunt. The woman was breath-taking, long tresses of blood red hair caressed her face. Her mystifyingly purple eyes complemented the purple blazer that she wore over a pristine pearl white shirt tucked neatly under a figure-hugging pencil skirt of same shade of purple. She was fairly young, maybe in her mid-twenties. Even in such formal clothes, her silhouette left no doubt of her appreciably enchanting figure. The skirt ended at her knees, giving way to her long legs encased in a shiny stiletto that clacked against the floor sharply with each step.

…And she was carrying a neatly pressed dress?

Daphne had always been confident when it came to her beauty, she knew she turned the head of a lot of men but even she had to admit that this woman might be considered as more aesthetically pleasing to their lot. It wasn't like she was jealous or anything. Yup! She wasn't jealous at all.

Elizabeth Greengrass had already changed the target of her ire from her husband to the new woman. She had seen her husband falter when he saw this young woman. He was going to pay for that later. Now was not the time.

' _Tch, men.'_ Elizabeth Greengrass snarled mentally.

"Mrs. Virginia Potts, It's a pleasure to meet you." Eobard White gave a slight nod of acknowledgment "I had to consult with Mr. Thorne regarding a problematic issue."

"Just follow me." The now named Virginia Potts sighed "Seriously Eobard! What did he do this time? I get my eyes off him for a second and he is already causing headaches for me. It is like dealing with a child who is on a sugar high." She continued with a little heat on her voice.

Virginia Potts ranted not even bothering to acknowledge the other companions.

Samantha was carefully watching the woman who was giving free information on her target. One thing Samantha Zabini was good at was manipulating men to their bidding and then killing them once she was done with them. Her seven dead husbands were enough proof of that. She was here with the Greengrass family at the insistence of Elizabeth since she didn't want to lose her upper footing during the negotiations. She and Elizabeth have been friends since their time at Hogwarts, she might not be the best person but she owed too much to the Greengrass family to deny help during their time of need.

Most probably the Potter boy might not even be aware of the contract so the surprise factor was going to rest with them. And frankly that was the only advantage they had. Even more of a reason to listen to this woman. She didn't like going in blind like this especially when the said target had so many resources at hand to use readily. She was also afraid that this woman might have some relationship with her target other than that of a boss and personal assistant. She clearly held a lot of concern for her boss, otherwise no woman would be so bothered by the actions of an irresponsible, impulsive guy.

***Scene***

Samantha was not the only woman who was listening to the words of the new woman intently. Daphne was staring at the woman just as intensely. She had seen her aunt eyeing the Potts woman from, trying to discern her most probably to gain an advantage. She was a little annoyed that the Potts woman even refused to acknowledge her but she didn't let that bother her for long.

More like she didn't have time to think because right now she was in the living room of Thorne Mansion and she was staring at yet another woman. A half-naked woman with wavy blonde hair who was a wearing only a shirt too big for her size cover her modesty.

She saw both of her parent's eyes widen in shock, they had expected a lot of things when they came for the meeting but not this. Her aunt was the only one who had her wits still.

The naked woman sauntered towards them, her hips moving hypnotically. Daphne heard her father gulp. She knew mother was going to kill dad later. She practically heard her mother growl. The woman moved towards Virginia Potts and bended a little since the PA of Arthur Thorne was a little on the short side compared to this scarlet woman. Her breasts nearly spilled out of her shirt "You must be the infamous Pepper Potts."

Samantha saw the personal assistant's expression harden. Clearly, she didn't like to be called by that name. Though even she thought the name was funny.

Pepper managed to immediately hide her displeasure and gave a smile "I am here to inform you that your clothes have been dry cleaned and pressed and there is car waiting out for you which will take you anywhere you want to go."

The unnamed half naked blonde woman just gave a mocking smirk "Even after all these years Arthur has you picking up laundry."

Pepper Potts again just gave a smile which quickly turned into a mocking smirk of her own "I do every and anything which is required by Mr. Thorne which sometimes even includes taking out the _trash_."

' _Take that bitch!'_ Virginia snarled mentally.

The blonde woman now had a nasty expression in her face and instead of returning a snarky comment. She snatched her clothes from Pepper and walked away with a thunderous expression.

Daphne watched the little exchange barely listening to the subtle jabs made by both woman. Since, she was in the state of perpetual rage. It was only her occlumency lessons which allowed her to maintain her façade until now but even occlumency can be used for only so long. She had gone into shock when she saw a half-naked woman in Potter's living room, it didn't take a genius to figure out what she was doing here.

Daphne gave out a guttural snarl immediately making every occupant present at the mansion to stare at her. She turned her face to Eobard White "You said that your client couldn't attend the meeting because of _excruciating circumstances_ and now this is what I see, Arthur Thorne fucking some no-good, blonde bimbo. This- This is just insulting and not to mention downright infuriating." Daphne finished while she was gritting her teeth. She looked the very vision of a warrior queen.

Mr. White for the first time in his life felt nervous. He was being glared at everyone present bar Virginia. The young woman Daphne was giving him a stare which would have even turned a basilisk into stone.

"You better get used to that," scoffed a cross-handed Pepper, sporting a disdainful smirk.

Thankfully, for him Virginia came to the rescue. Bless her soul! He sometimes hated to deal with the shenanigans of his client.

Daphne shot her mother a disapproving glance, as if to say, ' _Look who you've set me up to marry, mother._ '

"Eobard, you wanted to meet with Arthur, right? He is in his lab right now, I will take you and your companions right away." Virginia made a clear gesture to follow her. Somehow within the small time it took for Daphne to make her displeasure known she had somehow managed to procure a pad which had lots of papers sticking out.

It had only taken them minutes to reach the lab of the Thorne Mansion. Again, Elizabeth was impressed by the security. She was sure that most of the security here would prove to be downright lethal if they were brute forced. It just simply raised question that what did Arthur Thorne had to hide that he would take such drastic measures. The more and more she learned about the man the more she was on edge. It just didn't make any sense, something was really amiss with the man.

Daphne after months of searching finally came face to face with Potter. He had changed so much, people often said after schooling everything changes about a person but in Potter's case almost nothing about the old him was left. He used to be a scrawny little thing always trying his level best to hide among the crowd. But now he was about 6 feet and few inches tall, wearing the same kind of dress that he wore in the lecture at Harvard as she saw in the penesieve. He was solidly built and looked sharp and intimidating.

"You are supposed to be half way around the world." Virginia said with a smile which barely reached her eyes.

"I am sorry." Arthur said in an apologetic tone which immediately turned into a mischievous smirk "I had a very rough night." Daphne could have sworn that his smirk could have covered a multitude of sins.

Her parents didn't think the same. Neither did she.

Apparently Virginia was having none of that, she snipped back "It's just sad that I have to escort your _rough nights_ out of your home every damn time."

Arthur just gave a lop-sided smile "So, how did she take it?"

"Like a champion," Pepper grounded out, not willing to discuss the matter any further.

"Before I send you out, I need some statements from you, for instance, should I say yes for the lecture in June in MIT?"

"Oh! It's in June, Pepper, stop haranguing me about it."

"Well, they are haranguing me about it. So, you will be going there in June. End of story." Pepper snipped.

"Now, you have to give a statement to vogue magazine?"

"About what?" even he was surprised at that. What did they want from him?

"They want to know whether it is true that you slept with all twelve models of Victoria's Secret?" Pepper asked with a smile but disgust was evident in her eyes.

Daphne, her parents and even Samantha were just gaping.

"You know I could never do that; I was incredibly busy during that time."

"Really?" Pepper asked in a very hopeful tone.

"Yes, though it is to be noted that I featured in their Christmas Edition and thankfully they had Veela twins in my cover." Arthur said in a playful tone "and whatever happened there I am not responsible for it in anyways."

"Tch. I should have known."

"You have to meet up with some people then you have to get a move on. Make it quick. You are already so late for your weapons presentation." Pepper Potts ordered with every cell of her body.

Arthur again gave a playful smile and walked closer to Pepper invading her personal space "Why is it that you want me out of here? Do you have plans?" Arthur preened further.

"I hate it when you have plans." He said while giving a melancholic smile. Daphne would have believed him if he wasn't giving his thrice damned smirk.

"I am allowed to have plans on my birthday." Pepper said snidely.

"It's your birthday. That's great. Already?" said a very flustered Arthur. He couldn't believe he forgot her birthday. Ah-gain.

"It's so surprising isn't it? It was the same day last year and then it comes back again next year." Pepper replied with sarcasm.

Arthur sighed faintly as he watched Pepper walking out of his lab, clacking her heels. Daphne felt her irritation peak to a new level.

Samantha's eyes followed Pepper as she left, her eyes narrowing in scrutiny while she further questioned the nature of their relationship.

"That could have gone worse."

If everyone was not so tense, then they would have face palmed so they just decided to settle with a fixed expression.

Daphne saw as Arthur finally deigned to give his attention to her and smiled mischievously. Daphne gulped.

Now was the time to get clean about their situation.

***Scene***

"You have to be joking!" Arthur Thorne muttered. Earlier signs of playfulness in his eyes vanished and he glared at the people who had dared to bring such farce. His eyes bored in to Elizabeth and Daniel Greengrass as he was holding the written contract at his hand.

Then he decidedly stared to his soon to be wife Daphne Greengrass. She also stared right back at him

' _As if that's going to happen!'_ Arthur thought furiously but he didn't dare to show any of his outrage on his face. Then he looked at her intended's aunt. He had heard of her, Samantha Zabini, the black widow the killer of weak willed men. Arthur just scoffed at her. He didn't give a damn, he practically ate woman like her.

God! He sometimes loathed the parents who gave birth to him. Even after their death they were being a nightmare to his amazing life. Nevertheless, he always managed to get out of sticky situations by using his wits and influence. He always got out no matter what Pepper thought.

Arthur took a deep breath to calm himself and the looked at his lawyer and said "Get me out of this." His voice was steely and demanding. This is what he had hired him for, that is to get him out of troublesome situations.

Daphne and her parents bristled at his tone. Even Samantha was a little agitated.

The only reason Daphne had allowed to let him talk was because she had an even worse temper tantrum when she had heard about the contract. Comparatively, Potter was acting like a cool cucumber.

"I didn't have time to analyse the contract properly considering the time constraints; I was only able to verify its authenticity. Rest assured, if there is a way out of this, I will find it." Eobard replied in an even tone.

"You better! Seriously, I am not cut out for marriage. It includes fidelity!" Arthur groaned. Earlier signs of discomfort abandoned for amusement.

Daphne gaped for a moment and then sneered "That must come as a real surprise to you, _Potter_."

"Don't call me by that name. I hate it." Arthur snapped back.

"Why!? That is who you are, aren't you?" Daphne replied snidely feeling a satisfaction on making him a little uncomfortable and agitated.

"You are not even my wife yet and I already find you annoying." Arthur said in a smug smile knowing that she hated it when he smiled like that.

Daphne let out a growl barely restraining herself from cursing this bastard. He was making this as difficult as possible. Maybe just for sheer amusement.

"Frankly speaking, you and I both know this marriage will be disastrous. Heck! Even your parents realize that and needless to be said, I can do so much better than _you_." Arthur replied with the same smug smile. "I deserve better than an _inbred abomination_." He finished with a snarl.

Daphne looked like as if she was slapped right across her face. She couldn't believe that Potter could change between his expressions so quickly.

Arthur gave a light chuckle and walked towards her and whispered in her ear "That is what you are aren't you? An _inbred abomination_?"

Elizabeth couldn't take it anymore. She had enough of this, they had let the situation escalate too far too quickly. She could even feel her husband's outrage at Thorne's latest comment for Daphne.

"That's enough! Both of you." Elizabeth said in a dry tone.

Daphne immediately closed her mouth before she could let out another insult. Clearly, displeased with the situation. Whereas, Arthur Thorne just rolled his eyes. He actually seemed rather pleased with himself which just further irritated Daphne.

She really wanted to have a few minutes with her _intended_ alone so that she could teach him some manners first. He clearly didn't know how to treat a lady. She had never been insulted like that by any man and she wasn't about to let someone like Potter walk all over her like that.

Eobard White just watched the entire scene dispassionately. He walked towards the Greengrass family and handed them a bunch of papers.

"What is this?" Elizabeth and Daniel questioned immediately.

"It is a prenuptial agreement. It states that if something untoward happens to my client, none of his assets will be released to his spouse under any circumstances instead it will be taken care of by one Virginia Potts. The written agreement will be enforced by the Wizarding State of California and U.S. Military due to the sensitivity of the said assets in wrong hands. I will need your daughter to sign that." Eobard White said in a monotone.

Elizabeth and Daniel saw red when they heard that since having access to the vaults of a husband was considered one of the basic rights of the wife in the Wizarding Britain and it really rankled them that their daughter will not be having that privilege.

"You can't be serious about this." Samantha growled before Daniel or Elizabeth could have protested. She didn't like it when her niece was being taken advantage of.

Before Samantha could say more Elizabeth decided to cut in. She didn't want her to make the situation worse.

"There has to be a limit to this Mr. Thorne. You are not the only one who is having a hard time because of this. What you are trying to take from my daughter here is considered a basic right back in our country." Elizabeth said dryly with disapproval and a hint of barely restrained anger apparent in her tone.

Daniel didn't bother to voice his thoughts for now allowing his voice to handle it for the time period.

Arthur just gave a smile in return to her intended's mother "Do not worry, Mrs. Greengrass. I am not heartless. Every month I will be writing a cheque of five hundred thousand galleons on your daughter's name so that she can cater to her various needs. She will be receiving this for the rest of her entire life even if something happens to me." He finished while waving his hands to sway her from her worries.

Elizabeth Greengrass goggled at the figure. This was more than some ancient or noble house had attained over their entire lifetime and here was a man who was ready to give away that kind of money every month just to get her daughter out of his hair. She wasn't stupid enough to believe that this boy was doing it out of the kindness of his heart.

Elizabeth turned to look at rest of her family and just like her even their eyes were wide. She was a little amused to see Samantha gaping at the figure offered by Arthur and then she saw Daphne she was fuming barely holding herself from escalating the situation to a duel. Her daughter never liked to be disregarded so casually.

This was going to be a very tiring day and they were not even halfway done with the negotiations. The only thing they had achieved today was to make the situation as tense and unbearable as possible.

Daphne and Arthur/Harry were looking ready to kill each other.

'Just Great!' Elizabeth thought ruefully. Hoping to see some humour in the situation.

"We are not here for your money, ." Daniel gritted out with his teeth clenching. "We just want to make this as bearable as possible for both my daughter's and yours' sake."

Arthur just gave an amused smile because he really was amused "Then we have already achieved that; if my lawyer is unable to find a way out of this then we will go with my previous arrangement."

"And what arrangement is that?" Daniel asked even though he already knew the answer.

"The arrangement where I will pay ridiculous amount of money and your daughter will stay out of my hair." Arthur said evenly.

Daniel just sighed and looked at his wife, hoping that she could make him see sense. Elizabeth just shook her head. He was just simply so tired to be even angry now.

"Is there a reason why you can't make this work? If we are not able to find a way out of this, we will be husband and wife." Daphne choked at the word _husband and wife_ "Do you really want to live the rest of your life alone?"

Arthur really wanted to laugh but he didn't dare do it because he was sure that if he did he would be attacked by the entire family so he gave a downright sorrowful look and replied "I am sorry it has to be this way."

"Why?" she asked in an empty tone. Daphne never really cared much for marriage but if she was going to be forced with Potter/Arthur whatever she at least wanted to try to make it work. If they were to be married she wanted to give her best. He was better than most of her batch mates. He was doing really good at his field of magic, was ridiculously rich and was one of the biggest name in the wizarding world right now and finally wasn't a death eater. Daphne wasn't vain in nature but even she could see the benefits. He was a better person then most of the Slytherins she had been acquainted with over the years. However, then she heard his answer.

"Hmmm…. because of _excruciating circumstances_." Arthur replied with a smug grin; believing he was the only one who got the joke.

Daphne saw red. She couldn't believe that he was turning his back on the marriage because he wanted to continue his philandering with whores. Before anyone could stop her, she brandished her wand to her loathsome soon-to-be husband and fired her first curse. She wanted blood.

 **Well this is the end of first chapter, review and tell me how did you like it.**

 **Don't forget to review. It helps to know how you people feel about my stories and how can I improve them further.**

 **crazyrajat out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter -2**

Harry Potter also known as Arthur Thorne scrambled away as the now enraged woman brandished her wand towards him and shot a curse straight to his head.

'Are you crazy!?' Harry bellowed as he took a dive to the right to get clear of the curse as it went on to hit a vase behind him completely obliterating it. He gulped it had been years since someone had dared to attack him so openly. If he wasn't so shocked at such a brazen move then he would have even called it a novel experience.

Daniel and Elizabeth stood still in shock before they rushed in with their own gobsmacked faces to reign in their daughter before she did something irreversible. From their interaction with Arthur until now they had come to one single conclusion and that is Arthur Thorne was a very important and powerful man – More than they expected - and killing or injuring him was going to lead to terrible consequences for both their daughter and family. They already had so many problems back home to afford such recklessness.

Daphne's face flushed in anger as she snarled at Harry and tried to send another curse towards him when Harry managed to scurry away from the earlier one. Keyword being 'tried' as when she did try an indescribable pain shot through her from head to toes. She was brought down to her knees letting out an ear-piercing scream 'AAAAAAAAH!'

Daniel and Elizabeth watched with growing horror as their daughter screamed her throat hoarse in pain. Daphne's wand slipped out of her hand by the time her pain receded but the after-effects of the curse was visible for anyone with half a brain. Even after the curse seemingly lifted Daphne's body was still twitching and her beautiful face was riddled with sweat.

Arthur noticed with some amusement that even after going through something so painful his _intended_ didn't even let out a sob nor did her eyes shimmer with tears. Even through her pain she was glaring at him, defying him. He was almost impressed for a second. This was a woman who didn't like to be taken lightly and was capable of taking just as much as she gave.

If only she wasn't a threat to his plans…

Lord Greengrass rushed towards Arthur losing all sense of propriety and his noble upbringing, he hissed through his teeth and asked 'What. Did. You. Do?' stressing out every word. Whatever happened to his daughter was so close to the victims of cruiciatus curse to just simply let this go.

Since the moment his daughters came into this world he promised himself that he would always protect them whether it be from the haughty purebloods in broad daylight or Death Eaters working in the shadows. But now his promise was broken and all of his efforts led to her daughter being tortured by an unknown pain curse as he was unable to do a thing… It was jarring to him.

The entire thing made him beyond angry. It was indescribable he had never felt such loathing against anyone, his blood boiled as his _son- in law_ directed a cocky smile towards him and replied 'I didn't do a thing.' The nerve of that brat!

Daniel Greengrass grated his teeth and slowly pulled out his wand and pointed towards Arthur and replied 'I think you should really reconsider your answer.' The statement sounded polite but the underlying threat was not missed by anyone. He could see Elizabeth trying to warn him to not do anything extreme but he was so pissed to listen to his wife right now.

'I wouldn't do that if I were you.' Arthur rolled his eyes and stated calmly with his hands held high up in the air in sign of mock surrender 'It's the wards, it attacks anything or anyone who shows aggression towards me magically or otherwise. It's pretty nifty little thing wouldn't you agree? And just for the record I totally forgot about them.'

Daniel slowly lowered his wand but was still glaring at the man with a pointed stare. His daughter might have started the fight but Arthur sure as hell provoked her into it. And now he was trying to do the same to him. Arthur was taunting him daring him to make a move. And by Gods! It was working.

Elizabeth let out a throaty growl at Arthur's reply and cried 'Then you should have warned us. From where we come from it's called common courtesy.' She still remembered the choking feeling she got from the wards when she had first entered into the premises.

This was the first time Elizabeth came in contact with an active ward since most of the places always employed passive one's which didn't kill the intruder or cause them massive amount of pain. The idea was to simply keep the individual out of a property. However, Arthur's ward allowed the intruder to breach in and then trapped them into a circle of misery and pain. It was cruel and totally unnecessary.

'I am sorry,' Arthur replied with a smirk and a light chuckle 'I just didn't think she would be so trigger happy.'

 _Like hell you didn't know!_ The mother of Daphne bellowed in her mind but didn't dare to voice her objections. She realized no matter the result her daughter was the one to initiate an attack. She really needed to talk to her daughter about reigning in her temper. It wasn't going to do her any favours against Arthur, he was the kind of man who would just simply use someone's temper against them. She knew too little about him to enrage him further. The meeting was too out of bounds to afford that.

Arthur walked towards Daphne who was still lying flat on the ground. He crouched to get hold of her form, an amused smile crossed his face when she visibly backed away from him. He slowly caressed her hair like an old lover making Daphne shoot one nasty look at him. He had no right to touch her like that! She wanted to punch him right across his stupid face until it was nothing more than meat and broken bones such was her fury. Only if she wasn't paralysed by the pain…

Daniel, Elizabeth and even Samantha tensed because of such unexpected gesture from Arthur since if he decided to do something untoward there wasn't a way they could stop him, the entire mansion was under total control of Arthur and to make things worse they couldn't use their magic to curse Arthur making them essentially useless.

They felt like a lamb which wandered into a lion's den.

'Well, now I have an answer to one of my question,' Arthur snickered as one of his hands climbed down to her cheek giving a tight squeeze. Daphne winced in response.

'You're a _screamer_ aren't you?' Arthur finally replied in a stage-whisper.

Everyone including Arthur's lawyer had a gobsmacked expression. They had expected there to be more violence instead Arthur was just going with humiliation as his weapon. Even Eobard hadn't expected that and he knew his employer for a quite a while now.

Arthur laughed at his own tasteless joke as Daphne and her mother grate their teeth together. It was only the wards preventing them from murdering the poor sod.

Even Daniel, Daphne's father was at a loss to what to say on that comment. He just couldn't believe that someone of his stature would be so crass but then again the first thing he saw when he entered this man's mansion was a half-naked woman. So in hindsight, he should have expected this.

'Did I stole your breath away, Daphne?' Arthur purred and he poured himself a drink from his cushy bar 'I am known to have that kind of effect on women.' He continued with a lop-sided smirk as he took a sip of the finest whisky money can buy.

Daphne just kept on gritting her teeth. She had never disliked or hated anyone so quickly in her life. This man was arrogant and callous to boot. Not to mention a downright chronic philanderer. He was everything which a woman would want to avoid in a man. He was simply incapable of having a relationship with anyone on more than a superficial level.

'All jokes aside, did you really think that you could intimidate me by swinging your wand around? Did you really thought that you could beat me that way?' Arthur asked unfazed and a little incredulous at Daphne's anger and her subsequent actions. It was the stupidest thing she could have done given the situation.

'Of course, you all thought that didn't you?' Arthur asked with a wry smile directing a pointed look at Daphne's parents and her aunt making them fidget. He was further amused when Daniel got in between him and his wife's standoff.

'No, you thought that you could cow me,' Arthur smiled genially but somehow it managed to send a shiver down everyone's spine. It was the coldest smile they ever had the opportunity to experience. 'After all you are purebloods, so your ego must have told you that if I didn't listen to you then I could simply be eliminated. Right? Afterall I am just a half-blood with no family power backing me. ' he finished with a clap of his hands making everyone flinch and putting them on edge.

 _This isn't going good,_ was the singular thought on everyone's mind. It was most probably the biggest understatement they had ever made this year.

'I guess that's why you decided to bring your murderous whore of an aunt in this little talk of ours?' Arthur asked with a smirk towards Daphne as Samantha bristled at the name given to her by the billionaire.

'Did I hit a nerve there?' Arthur asked Samantha with a lop-sided smirk when he saw her distress. He was having fun now.

'You speak as if you are any different?' Samantha asked with her own crooked smirk. She had dealt with men like him before. Tch.. always too cocky for their own good!

"Before I came here I looked into you. Did you know that?' Samantha asked as she closed the distance between them with few steps. They were staring into each other eye-to-eye. None refusing to back down.

'Am I supposed to be impressed?' Arthur asked slyly 'information about me is floating all over the internet. You just need to look around.'

'Not the kind of info I came to possess.' Samantha replied without missing a beat surprising the entire Greengrass Family since Samantha had distinctly told them her lack of ability to find anything on Arthur.

'I know where you come from Arthur.' Samantha purred like a cat as her eyes danced in cruel excitement 'Before Howard Thorne got his claws on you, you lived with a quaint family in London named the Dursley's and they were utterly muggle. You weren't particularly liked by them but they still took care of you even if they were forced into it. You must have always thought that no one would ever like you since you were so different since you were a magical.'

Samantha's smile turned predatory as she continued 'But then you were admitted into Hogwarts you came into connection with people who were just like you but they never accepted you? Did they?' she asked the last part almost mockingly.

Elizabeth and Daphne were still reeling from the fact that Arthur was raised by muggles. Because by all menas he should have been raised by wizards and witches. He was a Potter they were one of the most famous wizarding families in Britain.

Harry's face morphed into a scowl which he quickly hid behind his customary smile. Though his momentary loss of composure was not missed by anyone. 'Is that it? Is that all you have? Some fluff piece about my early childhood. Maybe you should send it to the _Times_ they might pay you some nice bucks. They always want juicy details about me.'

'Oh! I am just getting started and I don't think that you would want info like that on paper. It might ruin the image you have cultivated for yourself.' Samantha replied coyly as she played with her tresses. She was being every bit the femme-fatale the moment allowed her to be. During the talk she had positioned herself in such a way that it showed considerable amount of her cleavage and her curves making her look almost irresistible. Though she was a little miffed that Arthur had paid no attention to her feminine wiles.

'Then soon one day Howard visited the nearby research centre and came in contact with a gifted child and his name was Harry Potter.' Samantha replied with a smile as her eyes refused to leave Arthur's.

'For the very first time someone believed in you, someone trusted you but even he was taken away from you in a cruel tragedy.' Samantha finished with a chuckle. 'So you did the only thing you could which was to lash out at the world with the full might of your fortune both in wealth and your brilliant intellect. You started creating weapons of mass destruction in the fields of magic and science. You sold death for a price just like a murderous whore.' Samantha concluded with a hard glare.

Daphne just watched as her aunt continued to school her intended whereas Arthur's face turned blank. It was as if he was a doll. If she wasn't so impressed by Arthur's ability to maintain his cool she would've been creeped out.

'No matter my past I come nowhere near your kill count.' Samantha said but this time the amusement and excitement from her eyes drained away to more sombre expression 'Just how many families have you killed and murdered on a single whim? Did you even cared about any of them? People praise you and look up to you for guidance because they think you are better than a normal man..'

'But all I see is a child who never really had much of a childhood and was lonely the entire time. Hence, you killed Harry Potter and brought Arthur Thorne in to this world. Harry Potter had nothing and was wanted by no one but Arthur he has everything from fame, wealth and power to women. Arthur commanded the attention of everyone whereas Harry was never anything special. Maybe that's why you hate being called by your real name? It reminds you of the time when you were pitiful.' Samantha sighed as she directed a mocking look towards Arthur, 'In fact I think you are still pitiful.' She replied nailing the final nail in the coffin.

Daphne had already gotten back up on her feet during the byplay between her aunt and Harry and was watching everything like a hawk. She didn't know how to feel right now. She didn't like Arthur but no one deserved to have their insecurities thrown at their faces like that not even him. Such cruelty was not her style. Even her Parents were frowning in disapproval.

Daphne looked towards Harry and she paled, his emerald eyes were arctic not showing a single sense of emotion. Neither fury nor sadness. It was like staring into an abyss as it brought the same sense of finality and unbidden terror. And to think that just few moments ago she dared to attack him with full intention of maiming and killing him.

Harry's eyes bored into her for a minute before a smile broke out on his face as he started chuckling which later turned into a full blown laughter. Samantha stared over Harry with a confounded expression wondering whether the man had went insane.

'This is so hilarious,' Harry huffed out through his laughter 'Do you really think you have me figured out? You are not the only one who looks into their enemies.'

'I am not your enemy!' Samantha snapped at Arthur but he held his index finger over her lips and replied huskily 'Shhhhhh. Now it's my turn doll.' Making Samantha bristle on his tone again.

'My protection unit is quite zealous when it comes to my safety,' Arthur intoned as he removed his finger from the buxom brunette's lips, 'So it wasn't a surprise when they ran the list of all the dangerous women in the world so that they could protect me better form the fairer sex despite my various protests. Apparently, my courting methods has broken some hearts along the way…' Arthur said sporting a genuinely confused expression.

Daphne and her mother glared at Arthur and thought simultaneously, _Just how much of a bastard are you?_

'That's when your name came upthe famed _Black Widow_ the killer of husbands just like your namesake.' Arthur said with his ever-present smile, 'I was fascinated by you in an instant. I thought what would make a woman so bloodthirsty and twisted that she would kill her own husband seven times.'

Samantha's face paled at the cold smile Arthur directed towards her as he said 'I simply had to know my curiosity demanded nothing less. So, I asked my sources to look further and what I found…. Let's just say was quite disappointing.'

'Turns out the famed black widow was nothing more than a victim who was used by her own father. She was given out like a toy to a sixty year old man.' Arthur said with a faux-pity as he chuckled at Samantha's enraged face 'Clearly, your first husband didn't treat you well and after his death you had no one else to take your revenge on so you lashed out at the world by marrying weak entitled men and the killing them later.'

'And you call me pitiful?' Arthur cooed. His face was mocking her very existence.

Daphne and Elizabeth went purple in rage it was becoming the only emotion they could relate with this 'Arthur Thorne'. Daphne already knew all about her aunt's circumstances and why she hated men. Daphne and her mother always made sure to never dig up past memories. Heck! Daphne was sure that her mother had even helped in covering up few of the murders committed by her aunt. No one liked their dirty laundry to be on display but from this she at least knew one thing that there was some truth to Aunt's hypothesis on Arthur. Arthur wouldn't be so vicious if her Aunt's comment hadn't hurt him.

'Women like you are only good for one thing,' Arthur replied as he rolled his eyes in disgust towards Samantha 'which is to blow men with real power. So why don't you get down on your knees already cause' the only thing you will be receiving from me is cum on your face.'

Samantha just stared at him for a moment registering the words he said to her in disbelief then she jumped on Arthur with her nails poised to strike the man across his face. She screamed in rage as her earlier painful memories played on the back of her mind. Her mind was so clouded with rage that she didn't even bother to use her wand instead she just jumped towards Arthur with her entire body. The only thing she wanted to do was hurt the man in front of her in anyway possible she would have even succeeded if a spell hadn't hit her in the back making her entire body to go limp like a puppet with her strings cut.

Lord Greengrass stood on the other side with his wand arm extended. His face was twisted in rage as he bared a scowl. He wanted to punch the kid right across his cocky face. Thanks to Arthur, he had to raise his wand against his own family. His blood boiled further when Arthur directed a crooked smirk towards him and said 'In the back Daniel! Never expected such a dick move from you.' Then to his amazement the man in front of him had the audacity to chuckle at Samantha's misfortune.

'Well that takes care of her,' Arthur choked through his amusement 'The thing is if you are going to mock someone you should be prepared to be mocked back in return. Wouldn't you agree Daniel?'

'Don't call me by my first name, you haven't earned it yet.' Daniel intoned monotonously but the threat was clear in his voice. His gritting teeth should have been the first clue.

'Well _Daniel_ as it stands the contract is pretty much iron-clad though the benefits is clearly stacked towards me' Arthur said as he paced around totally ignoring the threat, making Lord Greengrass scowl further at the disrespect. It was only because of his great occlumency barriers that he hadn't lashed out at Arthur Thorne. He was still having trouble believing that someone like James and Lily could give birth to such a loathsome boy.

'I am not a monster nor am I unreasonable,' said Arthur as he lightly swayed because of the continuous intake of his prized whisky 'that's why I all of you can agree that I am being incredibly generous with my offer.'

Daphne pocketed her wand as she stared at him emotionlessly. For now, her anger was cooled down but she wasn't going to let this man one-up her once more. She lost her cool for an instant and she paid the price for it. He took advantage of her moment of weakness without any remorse and to prove his point he did the same to her aunt.

'All I want in return from you people is to keep this thing quiet.' Arthur purred as he was played with his jacket 'Me being single helps me get in doors which are otherwise closed.'

' _Doors' is that what we are calling it now?_ Daphne thought with wry humour.

'And in return I shall do the same for your daughter,' Arthur said as he smiled at Daniel and Elizabeth but they didn't return the gesture. They were still pretty enraged by Arthur's previous disrespectful actions.

'She will be provided for everything and she will want for nothing,' Arthur continued 'She can continue her life as she pleases and is allowed to pursue whatever relationship she had with other men before me.' Arthur almost laughed at the thought. His intended seemed like a total prude there was no way he could believe that she was involved with any man or woman for that matter.

'The only thing I want from her is to make me feel as if she never existed. I want her to be invisible so that nothing changes in my awesome life.'

Arthur asked with exasperation, 'Is that too much to ask? Is it?'

Elizabeth just stared at him with utter loathing. She didn't want a life like that for her daughter. In some ways it was worse than what other pureblood families would have offered. Sure, they might have treated Daphne like a tool for their own benefit but at the least she would have been useful and wanted but now her daughter was going to be married to a man who didn't care or see any use of her. She was going to be unwanted and lonely and that's the worst thing which could happen to any person.

This wasn't a marriage it was more of a cover-up for Arthur Thorne, Elizabeth thought barely controlling her own anger.

She watched as Arthur slowly walked towards them in a gait and whispered lightly, 'I can see defiance in your eyes but let me warn you right now! Your feelings… They don't matter all that matters is me and my wishes. This is not a request but an order. You will do as I say and in return I will not end your petty existence.'

Elizabeth and Daniel both blanched at the audacity of this man. Did he really think that they would give away their daughter's future just like that? Was he that arrogant?

Before the elder Greengrass could mount their disagreement and outrage Arthur was turned around roughly by a thin dainty hand and then he was promptly slapped right across his face by the very same hand.

There was utter silence.

Arthur just stared at Daphne for a minute. He just couldn't believe he was slapped like an impudent child. He was simply too stunned to be even angry. He just watched as Daphne's eyes shimmered with tears destroying her delicately put black mascara. Even through her tears she refused to turn back her stare instead she slapped him in the other cheek with the same force.

Daphne stumbled right in front of him as a massive wave of pain passed through her because of the wards but she still refused to remove her stare away from Arthur. Her ocean blue eyes bored into the cold emerald of Harry Potter. Arthur looked at her with amazement as the woman in front of her still stood straight even through all the pain which must have been coursing through her veins. She just refused to back down.

Arthur could hear the screams of concern from Daniel and Elizabeth from the other side but he was simply numb to it.

'I don't need your fucking money, Potter. I am not one of the whores you fuck with and just throw your money to get rid of them.' She bit out through her sob. He didn't know whether the sob was because of his actions or the wards. 'No matter what you do it's not going to change that we are to be married it's inevitable. Someone as smart as you must have already deduced that just by reading the contract so when you are able to see sense through your cloud of arrogance come back to me and may be then we can have a real talk instead of whatever this devolved down to.'

She limped out of the mansion with tears streaming out of her eyes however not even that stopped her from giving one last parting shot, 'I know I made a lot of mistakes with you. I assumed a lot of things from our past…' she let out a humourless chuckle 'as little as they may be but there is no reason for any of us to be unhappy for the rest of our life. If you want to be alone for the rest of your life I will leave you. You don't have to pay me for that, I am an independent woman I can take care of myself.' After that she stormed out with her parents and now enervated aunt following her shortly with a sigh.

Arthur was rendered speechless but Eobard could only smirk at his employer. He was impressed by the woman even after seeing the real Arthur she wasn't intimidated enough to not fight back. And he knew just how scary Arthur was when he was going through one of his moments. And to his own amazement Daphne was motivated enough to go through unforgivable amount of pain to just teach Arthur a lesson in humility.

'It's not like I haven't been slapped by a woman before.' Arthur muttered weakly still in a trance after the Greengrasse's left and if possible Eobard's smirk stretched from ear-to-ear.

'I think she will be good for you.' Eobard replied without missing a beat.

Arthur looked at him gobsmacked and said, 'Hello! We are talking about the exact same violent and unreasonable girl, are we not?'

'She is strong and has a fire to her and I think she might be able to keep you in line….' Eobard replied as he poured a drink for himself, 'and make you happy for a change.'

'I am already happy Eobard,' Arthur replied boisterously but even he could hear just how pathetic he sounded 'I am as happy a man can be.' He finished but his tone turned decidedly sombre by the end.

'There is no need for you to fight alone. You still have friends who care for you deeply if you would just let them in.' Eobard intoned with a hint of pleading. He came to know his employer few years ago and he had been a close friend to Howard therefore he was aware about the difficult goals Arthur had set for himself. And to his immense sadness there was only going to be loneliness and unending pain at the end of Arthur's path. That was not what Howard wanted for his son… he knew Howard too well or that.

'I can't Eobard, I just can't. I have lost so much and made so many enemies who I must fight and I can't have this girl be an unnecessary casualty of my actions. This is how it has to be… People like me don't get to have a family or kids. We are too twisted for something like that.' Arthur replied morosely as his hands played with his hair.

'You know that's not true,' Eobard snapped at Arthur and he smashed his glass on the table, 'Howard had a wife he even had a kid. He was a family man… Arthur.'

'And how did that end for Howard,' Arthur replied sarcastically, 'He lost both his wife and his son in a plane crash.'

'That was an accident.' Eobard stressed his words as his face twisted in distress.

'You and I both know that was no accident. It was purposefully done by his enemies, they wanted to kill him but they messed up and Maria and Tony paid the price for it.' Replied Arthur.

Eobard could only sigh as he realized that he won't be winning this argument 'Just don't make a hell of your own making, Arthur.' Eobard said his last piece before he made his way out.

Arthur didn't even deign to give a response. He just stared into the vast ocean till late night.

 **13** **th** **Grimauld Place, London.**

'We need to do something really fast,' Moody said with his fake eye twitching around madly 'the raids have increased tremendously since the Dark Lord's return.'

Dumbledore listened to Moody with one of his ear open and nodded gravely, 'Severus, Do you have any news on where Voldemort is going to strike next?'

Severus sneered with disgust and replied, 'No, these days he doesn't involve me in the planning process. He just orders to accompany me in the end like a lapdog.'

Sirius who was beside them scoffed and said 'Yeah! Since when have you been ever useful Snivellus?' Sirius eyes turned into a thin line at the juvenile nickname as Sirius continued his tirade 'Sometimes I wonder on whose side you really are?'

'Tch, I am still more useful than you can ever be, you mangy mutt.' Severus growled as he inched towards his wand, 'You can't even get out of this squalor without the aurors on your ass.' Severus smiled when he saw Sirius glower at him. Snape knew that it bothered Sirius that the only thing he had done in the war until now was to provide his house as the headquarters for the Order. Heck! Sirius couldn't even provide backup in the resistance against Voldemort because of his wanted status.

'That's enough from both of you.' Dumbledore whispered gently though the warning was clear to both Sirius and Snape. It was during times like these that Dumbledore truly showed his presence. Snape was able to sense the magic saturating the air and he shivered. The magic wasn't dark but it had the same suffocating presence of Voldemort's dark magic. For two completely different individuals Dumbledore and Voldemort were quite similar.

Dumbledore eyes roamed towards everyone in the living room including the Weasely's, Lupin, Hestia Jones, and the entire Order of Phoenix or at least the ones who managed to come at such short notice and said 'My trust in Severus is absolute.'

None dared to question Dumbledore further though there was palpable tension in the air putting everyone on edge.

'Did something worth noticing occur?' asked Dumbledore to the rest of the members of the Order of Phoenix.

'There is some chattering about an attack by some vampire covens in the country side of Britain.' Remus replied with a frown.

Dumbledore looked at Remus and couldn't help but wince. The man hadn't aged well he had dark circles beneath his eyes, his body had turned scrawny and weak even his cheeks were hollowed out painting a very morose picture. There was this weariness to Lupin as if the man just wanted to crawl into some ditch and just die.

'How many died?' Dumbledore asked as he massaged his forehead in sorrow in such pointless waste of lives..

'We still don't have the exact number but I think it's in hundreds.' Said Remus as the rest of the Order just listened with growing horror. Even Snape had a frown on his face.

'Is there something else?' asked Dumbledore.

There was silence for a minute everyone trying to understand the depth of cruelty committed by the Voldemort and his cohorts. It was always like this Voldemort would do something and they would come and discuss about it instead of actually stopping it. They didn't blame their leader for not taking pro-active actions since there weren't that many fighters in their group like at the first war but it still grated on their confidence. It had already been few years since the return of Dark Lord and the only thing they have managed until now was to hold off few skirmishes. That was it!

'While I was working in the Department of Mysteries I heard a very interesting chatter on one of my _colleagues_ apparently she's stuck in a marriage contract.' Hermione replied with a predatory smile as Ron gulped. Hermione only smiled like that if she had gotten something really juicy on someone she really disliked. 

'Might I interest you in divulging more?' Dumbledore asked as he returned a smile of his own. Even in Hogwarts Hermione was unnaturally brilliant in figuring things out.

'Oh sure,' Hermione replied slyly as she played with one of her bushy tresses 'Apparently my dear _friend_ Daphne Greengrass is contracted to one… Arthur Thorne.' Hermione said as she nearly spat at the word _friend_ making Ron wince harder. Everybody knew just how well she and Daphne got along.

That made Dumbledore raise one of his eyebrow he wasn't sure whether to be worried or ecstatic on this piece of news. Arthur Thorne at present was a very big name in both the magical and muggle world. He was a powerful man and if he could be swayed to their cause then it would be boon to the light side. Everyone knew that Howard Thorne's resources were considerable and if Arthur had inherited all of that then he would be invaluable.

'Do you think he would join the order if given the incentive?' Dumbledore asked Hermione since he always had a high regard for her opinions.

Hermione bit her lip at that question because she was sure that Arthur would never join anything which is greater than himself. From what she had read and what she knew about the man personally, his ego would never allow it. Yes, Hermione knew that Arthur and Harry Potter were the same person. He used to be sort of a friend before they got estranged due to circumstances. For her it was always obvious. The only thing she just couldn't believe was that someone could change so dramatically in the span of couple years.

'I don't think so,' Hermione replied impassively, 'He just isn't the type.'

Dumbledore frowned as he caressed his beard and asked 'You are not telling me something I would prefer if you don't continue to hide it.'

Hermione just sighed in response it was just impossible to hide anything from Headmaster's eyes, 'We all have met Arthur Thorne before.' Hermione replied as her hands continued to fidget because of the distress she was feeling.

Dumbledore just gave a pointed look of interest and asked 'Might I ask who?'

'Harry Potter is Arthur Thorne.' Hermione replied and just simply waited for the bomb to detonate.

And just as she expected Sirius roared 'What!? Where is he and why didn't you ever tell me?' Hermione winced at the visible pain on the Marauder's face. He looked haggard and downright murderous. It was known by almost everyone in Order that Harry Potter was the godson of Sirius Black and the latter had been searching for Potter since the day he had disappeared. Sirius was almost crazy about someone who he had never really met and that creeped the fuck out of Hermione.

'Stop it Sirius!' Dumbledore ordered and just like that Sirius shut his mouth but there was still miasma of unpleasantness coming out of him.

'Bugger.' that was the singular response from Ron making Hermione roll her eyes at him.

'Why do you think he won't join us?' Dumbledore asked perplexed at the estimation given by his once brilliant student, 'If anything he has the strongest reason to join the Order. His parents were killed by Voldemort and they themselves were part of our little group so he must hold strong feelings against the Death Eaters.'

Hermione just shook her head in response and said, 'Harry Potter is not the same man anymore these days he goes by Arthur Thorne as I said earlier and this man has no conscience whatsoever.'

Sirius immediately growled at Hermione and hissed, 'Why yo-' but he was cut off when Dumbledore directed a single glare towards him making him snap his mouth shut though he still continued to glare at Hermione. Snape looked at the entire thing with interest. He was intrigued by what Lily's son had done to rankle Hermione so much.

'It's widely known about the various achievements Arthur has achieved in the field of Runes, Arthimancy and Thaumaturgy. Some of them are so ground breaking and ahead of the time that he's called _Merlin of our time_ by various research journals and philosophers alike. Some even compare him to the likes of Nicholas Flamel and Medea.' Hermione said in a wistful tone confusing everyone in the Order she actually seemed fond of the man for an instant but then her eyes narrowed into thin lines and she barked, 'However in the muggle world he has a different nickname he's known as the _Merchant of death_ because just like his father he made his vast fortune by selling weapons of mass destruction to various nations and organisations. His hands are soaked in blood more so ever than you-know-who's. In fact I would say that he's more dangerous than the Dark Lord since he's apathetic to the pain he causes to the entire world. He does it only for money at the least the Dark Lord has a higher purpose than something as mundane as wealth.'

Sirius could only hear Hermione with a stunned face not really believing her for a moment. There was just no way that James and Lily's son would be like that. He refused to believe it! He turned towards Remus and even he donned a stunned face.

'Are you sure that Arthur and Harry are the same person?' Snape asked through his sneer, 'Because I never saw anything special in that boy?'

Hermione just scoffed back at her ex-potions teacher and snapped back, 'It just goes on to show that you are a poor judge of talent and character.' Snape's sneer deepened as Hermione just smirked back at him. He had always been an absolute nightmare to her during her Hogwarts days so these days she got back at him by making sure that she made an absolute ass out of him in front of the entire order. She could even hear some chuckles from the twins and disapproval from Molly.

Hermione turned towards Dumbledore refusing to indulge the weasely twin any further and noticed that the man was rather silent. Maybe he was still contemplating on what needed to be done about Arthur Thorne.

After about a minute Dumbledore finally addressed her and said with a measured tone, 'Do you really think he's malicious Hermione? From what I've heard he sounds just like a wand maker he shouldn't be blamed for what other's do with his weapons once it's out of his hands.'

Sirius and Remus almost clutched to that hope like a lifeline. Hermione almost felt pity towards them. Keyword being 'almost' she just didn't have enough kindness in her to hide the truth.

'It's different in his case he could have done anything in this world to earn his keep instead he chose to make weapons. He chose to kill.' Hermione replied heatedly stressing the last statement before she took a deep sigh and replied calmly, 'No matter what we decide we need to keep in mind that this is a man who's willing to kill at least indirectly so no matter what caution should be taken before we bring him into the Order if that's what we are going with.'

Dumbledore hummed as he contemplated further into the dilemma he found himself in. The man was able to feel everyone's stare on him especially the Marauders. Everything depended on this decision someone like Arthur Thorne was too much of a wild card to be left alone. They had to make a move first before someone like Voldemort took an interest in him.

'I want you to contact the Greengrasse's to set up a meeting with him.' Dumbledore said which immediately bringing a smile on both Remus and Sirius lips while Snape frowned with distaste.

Hermione raised one of her eyebrow in silent contemplation and replied, 'Greengrasse's are a neutral family they have always treaded the line very carefully. It won't be easy to force them out of their comfort zone.'

'They don't have a comfort zone anymore. The second they decided to get involved with Arthur Thorne they gave that right away. He is too much of a wildcard to be allowed that.' Dumbledore replied in a morose tone. His entire body had sagged as if the very act pained him.

Hermione just nodded and made her way out of the Grimauld Place to prepare for their inevitable clash with the Greengrasse's and Daphne. She just now had to figure out a way to have a normal civilized talk with Daphne and her family

 **Kindly read and review. Tell me you're thought on the latest instalment of Civil War.**

 **I am looking for a beta for my stories. So if any of you guys are up for it, please PM me.**

 **crazyrajat is out.**


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